A synthetic dequence designed to prepare ceramide trisaccharides will be investigated in order to make available a class of sphingolipids that have been observed to accumulate during a number of lipid storage diseases. Several naturally occurring analogs of sphingosine will be prepared to confirm their structural identity. Analogs of sphingosine such as a diamino analog, deoxy sphingosine, "iso-sphingosine," and an acetylenic sphingosine will be prepared and evaluated for utility in a number of biological systems.